help with this problem...

[BIGROB]

started car and took off to discover a clicking comeing from motor, it didnt set the engine light so i figured its not to bad, thought maybe it was low oil but it wasnt that low but i changed it anyways, still does it, do you think the oil could have gotten low and pissed off the valves and will take a couple days to get oiled up...help me out! it doesnt click at idle, just when i take off...

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

Has the weather been especially cold? Can you tell where the clicking is coming from? Can you hear it reving the engine or just under load? I would open the hood and try to locate the noise first. My P5 ticks all the time anyway (it's not uncommon) and the cold weather has been making the problem worse. I would try and pinpoint the source before going any further.

 

[BIGROB]

ya its gotten pretty cold, but the clicking just started and its been cold for about 2 months so i hope it was just the oil prob, hopefully it will stop withen the next couple of days....it sounds like its coming from the internals but i did the ghetto ear to the screwdriver sound test and nothing sounded foreign.

 

[mp5streetracer]

yeah i aggree you need to try to pinpoint where it is comeing from. my engine ticks alittle bit. i think that is not really uncommen as mazdaspeeder said. i have seen where is has been the water pump and the a/c fan. try those if you would like and see if that can help you to figure out where it is comeing from.

 

[Guvner]

Now it been awhile since I owned my MP3 so I'm not sure if valvetrain has hydraulic lifters or not, assuming they do those are common noise makers when the weather cools down, oil thickens up. Usually its do to with regular oil over time gumming up the lifters, switching to synthetic can help over time quiet them or using a engine flush just before your next oil change. My old DSM was notorious for that.
Also you could just have a noisy injector, not sure why they make the noise, but you can hear then tapping/clicking.

A trick a mechanic friend taught me a few years back to help find a noise in the engine bay was to take the longest screwdriver you have and put the driver end on a part of the engine you think is making the noise and your ear to the handle....homemade stethoscope, keep doing that until you find the location of the noise and they post up the results.

 

[mmiiimp5]

I had this same problem a ticking coming from the drivers side of the motor. I had it checked out last year when i was in california on a buisness trip and they couldnt find any problem. for the next year It came and went I assumed it was maybe the fuel injectors or the lifters. Late this fall I went to go home from work and my car started missing and was making a horrible knocking sound. as I drove it home the knocking when away I stoped and Twilght Zone to have the Code check and it was missing on the #4 Cylinder. when I got home I did a compression check and found 115 175 180 and 0 on cylinders 1,2,3,4. I pulled the head off and found The screws holding the VISC butterfly valves on 1 and 4 had backed out and the butterfly had made its way down the intake port and was lodged between the head and the valve holding the valve open. I sent my head off to get machined since the valve had gouged the valve seat. Wile I had it apart I removed the VTCS valves. got it all back together and runs great now except for now im using a s*** load of oil, I just replaced the PCV valve hopefully that will help it some. when it gets warmer I will look more into that.

Good luck hopefully my mishaps can help you avoid a costly fix, mine was about $1000, I also changed the timing belt, and water pump wile i had it apart.

 

[mmiiimp5]

Ohh BTW there is a recall on the VISC but my car didnt fall into the recall dates I went to the Dealer and talked to them and they told me to call the mazdas 1800 # but they wouldnt do anything

 

[la2lvtom]

Man, I'm glad I found this post, my '03 started making the clicking noise in the summer and hasn't stopped since. Only when putting a load on the motor and not at idle, also since this started I have been going through oil like there is no tomorrow. No drips under the car and no visible leaks on the block, heck I don't even smell oil burning but it's now at around a quart a month, at least it was when it was my daily driver now she just sits in the garage and I take her out on weekends. I had a speed shop take off the head to see if it was leaking oil into the cylinders and was told the cylinders were clean and looked like a new engine. Most people tell me that the burning oil is normal for this engine as it gets older (really, a quart a month is normal???) but I can't get a straight answer on the clicking noise, so I'm just glad its not me going crazy with the clicking noise.